What to Feed Houseguests: A Few Tips and 10 Stress-Free Recipes

My boyfriend and I have spent a good portion of July traveling and visiting family — in short, being other people's houseguests. Then last week, my boyfriend's mother came to visit for a week, and we have Bay Area friends coming into town this evening. I love having visitors, but I always worry a little too much about what to feed them. So when Sam's mom came to town, I decided to put together a list of great recipes that are nice to have around for snacking and easy meals.

Everyone has different tastes and preferences and you can't please them all. But I do find that having a few good homemade snacks around and a jar of good granola is always appreciated. In the summer, iced tea is a must and having good coffee and half-and-half on hand is of utmost importance. A few substantial green salads and an easy taco recipe are great, too.

We ended up going out to eat a few times, Sam's mom made taco salad one night, and I made turkey meatballs and a simple pasta towards the end of the week. We had granola and yogurt in the mornings and packed sandwiches to keep us going thoughout the day. So it all worked out!